The FAQs at the Maxent site suggests that codes for Sampo, Magnavox Philips etc... could be used on your remote. These codes might or migh NOT work with your specific remotes, although people have reported success with them.

Another way to get your All in One or Radio Shack remotes to work for Maxent is to use the JP1 programming connector on those remotes.

The FAQs at the Maxent site suggests that codes for Sampo, Magnavox Philips etc... could be used on your remote. These codes might or migh NOT work with your specific remotes, although people have reported success with them.

Another way to get your All in One or Radio Shack remotes to work for Maxent is to use the JP1 programming connector on those remotes.

The easiest way is to buy a Logitech-Harmony and use their data base.

The remotes for the 42X3 and the 50X3 are the same.

I searched the forums and found a lot of people who had success programming their remote to work with the 42X3. I even found a few people with the same exact remote as me. Unfortunately, when I tried those codes on my 50X3, they didn't work. I tried every code I found on here, as well as the code search. None of them worked at all.

I'll probably have to buy a universal remote that can learn functions from another remote. i was never able to get my universal remote to control my receiver or dvd player either, so getting a new remote is overdue

I'll probably have to buy a universal remote that can learn functions from another remote. i was never able to get my universal remote to control my receiver or dvd player either, so getting a new remote is overdue

One of the best "universal" remotes I have is the x10 Universal 5-in-1 Learning Remote. The price of $50 for it sux; I bought my first one a few years back when they were on sale for $9.99, and I bought 6 more last year when they were buy 1, get 5 free (making it $8.33 each, sicne the "buy one" cost regular price of $49.99.) I still have 3 or 4 of them that have never been used. The best feature is the ability to "learn" codes from just about any remote, and control the functions. It even controls the power (but not the volume control, darnit) to my Logitech Z-680 5.1 surround sound speakers. eBay usually has them for around $20.

Plus, I use the x10 FireCracker kit to control my lights, so it's very handy.

Yeah, the Logitech Harmony is nice and all, but way too much for me. I'll stick with the x10 remote unless I can find a REALLY good deal on the Harmony.

Hard decision, consider this is panny glass, what generation, what electronics? The Vizio, while not Panny glass, has a track record, mostly good to very good reviews by pros and buyers. Remember, not all Panny glass rebadged units had good reps, ie. Optoma.

OK, here is my review as promised. Let me first start off by saying that I have never owned a plasma TV, nor viewed one outside of a retailer's showroom. I currently own a Toshiba 65" RP CRT HDTV. To me, the picture quality on that TV is perfect in terms of no compression, jaggies, etc. Sure, you can't watch it from an angle or on a bright sunny day, but I think the picture itself looks the most realistic. It doesn't look digitized or pixelated like the digital sets (LCD and DLP) do.

When I first turned the TV on, I was right in front of it. Immediately I noticed that I could see what appeared to be slight compression of the picture, especially in the dark areas. However, after doing a quick picture tune (brightness and contrast to 50, color to 22, sharpness and tint to 0), that was 99% eliminated. Once I moved back to the couch, which is about 9.5-10 feet away, the picture looked perfect and I couldn't see what I was seeing up close. I suspect once I have time to fine tune this with my AVIA DVD, it will improve even more.

After watching an HD channel for about 15 minutes, I began to realize how much my old TV set was suffering by not being very bright and having bad viewing angles. This picture was truly better overall. The colors were richer, without being torchy, the picture was considerably brighter, even with the brightness and contrast turned down, and the sharpness was very precise and crisp. On my RP CRT set, setting the sharpness to zero causes the image to be blurry, so I have to keep it around 40. On this set, it was set to 0, where it should be, and looks fantastic.

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1) How is the case design and remote?

My only complaint about the design is the built in stand. It doesn't have enough padding underneath, and when I slid it around to plug my components in, it scratched my wood cabinet that it sits on. Fortunately, a wood marker fixed that. But the padding needs to be thicker. This will be a non-issue once I wall mount it. Other than that, the design is very solid, and very beautiful. The remote is very solid, with my only complaint being the sliding door on the bottom. I wish they had just left off the door, as I need access to those buttons on a semi-regular basis. But, that's very minor.

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2) In your opinion how do DVDs look? standard TV? HDTV?

I only got a chance to watch a DVD briefly, but the picture seemed as good as a 720p feed I watched from Fox. Vibrant colors, bright picture, no jaggies or visible compression.

Standard TV looks as expected. Vibrant colors, bright picture, but being that it is an analog picture, you see some distortion. Setting the DNR to high and the sharpness to 0 greatly improved this. I will say that analog on this looks better than on my Toshiba RP CRT.

As far as HDTV, when I first turned the TV on, I was right in front of it. Immediately I noticed that I could see what appeared to be slight compression of the picture, especially in the dark areas. However, after doing a quick picture tune (brightness and contrast to 50, color to 22, saturation and tint to 0), that was 99% eliminated. Once I moved back to the couch, which is about 9.5-10 feet away, the picture looked perfect and I couldn't see what I was seeing up close. I suspect once I have time to fine tune this with my AVIA DVD, it will improve even more. After watching an HD channel for about 15 minutes, I began to realize how much my old TV set was suffering by not being very bright and having bad viewing angles. This picture was truly better overall. The colors were richer, without being torchy, the picture was considerably brighter, even with the brightness and contrast turned down, and the sharpness was very precise and crisp. On my RP CRT set, setting the sharpness to zero causes the image to be blurry, so I have to keep it around 40. On this set, it was set to 0, where it should be, and looks fantastic.

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3) On opening/closing credits when white text appears on a black background does the level of black change?

I didn't notice this, but also wasn't specifically looking for it. I'll look for it later this week or weekend when I watch some movies.

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4) When there are images of solid color like blue sky or undersea do the blue areas look smooth or like they are made up of bands of color.

I watched Discovery HD for a few minutes, and the outside shots of a bright blue sky seemed realistic and natural. No bands whatsoever.

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5) Do each of the inputs "remember" the aspect ratio settings when you switch back and forth between them?

All of my components are hooked up to my receiver, then the receiver to the TV. So I only use one component really, so I can't say.

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6) Is the overall picture on any input biased toward green or red?

Not that I have noticed, but if anything changes after calibrate it with AVIA I will let you know.

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7) Do high definition images look "lifelike" or over-exaggerated?

Very lifelike.

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8) Are the menus easy to use?

Easy to use, but a few minor complaints. When you hit the "menu" button, it doesn't just pop up the menu. It sort of "rolls down" from the top of the screen. So you have to wait for it to fully load before selecting an option. It's only a minor complaint, because once this thing is calibrated I'll rarely be in there.

My other complaint is that the menu has 2 settings which are inaccessible - black level extender and white screen (it's called "white" something, i think "white screen" but I'm not 100% sure.) . The manual says that the black level extender is not available for this model, so I assume they use the same software for every TV, and this feature is only available on other TVs. If that is the case, then they should have removed it from this menu. The manual does not say anything about the "white screen" not being available but yet I can't get to it. This option is something you turn on to put a solid white image up on the screen, to help undo image retention. I need to call Maxent to see if my TV is supposed to have this, and it's malfunctioning, or if this is another feature which this TV does not have. I would think that since this is a plasma, it would have it.

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9) Are there any menus or features that you feel are missing?

None that can think of.

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10) Does the set make any buzzing sounds or produce excess heat?

None that I've noticed so far.

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11) Are the blacks very dark or somewhat grey?

The blacks are truly black, I don't see a hint of gray to them.

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12) Post some photos of standard tv, dvd, hdtv.

I tried to take pictures of different video sources, but had no luck. With the flash on, you couldn't see the images. With the flash off, the images were blurry and dark. I didn't worry about it too much since someone else already posted some. I did take a few pics of the set though:

One of the best "universal" remotes I have is the x10 Universal 5-in-1 Learning Remote. The price of $50 for it sux; I bought my first one a few years back when they were on sale for $9.99, and I bought 6 more last year when they were buy 1, get 5 free (making it $8.33 each, sicne the "buy one" cost regular price of $49.99.) I still have 3 or 4 of them that have never been used. The best feature is the ability to "learn" codes from just about any remote, and control the functions. It even controls the power (but not the volume control, darnit) to my Logitech Z-680 5.1 surround sound speakers. eBay usually has them for around $20.

This one doesn't do receiver or DVD players, so I'll have to keep looking.

It does. Mine is set to do the DVD player and the SAT button has been re-programmed for my Logitech Z-680 5.1 speakers.

All the buttons are capable of controlling any device, except for the TV button, which only controls TVs.

BTW, your pics are making me anxious for Thursday to get here!

Thanks for clarifying, I may look into this one now. The only thing that makes finding a remote tough is my dvd player and myr eceiver, because they have separate on and off buttons instead of a single power button.

Thanks for clarifying, I may look into this one now. The only thing that makes finding a remote tough is my dvd player and myr eceiver, because they have separate on and off buttons instead of a single power button.

There are several multi-funtion buttons on the x10 remote that you can program (such as the four labled A B C and D), so all you'd have to do is remember A = on, B= off, or something like that.

Like I said, I see them all the time on eBay for $10 + shipping, no more than $20, so it's not a huge investment to check it out. It controls 5 devices, and it's quite handy if you use the x10 light controls (which I cannot live without now!) Too bad you don't live close to me, I'd lend you one of the spares I have sitting on my shelf.

I just want to take a minute to publicly apologize if posting the coupon (or the amount saved by using it) caused anyone to panic. Just trying to help out, 'cause I know saving a few hundred bux is a big deal to a lot of people!

I just want to take a minute to publicly apologize if posting the coupon (or the amount saved by using it) caused anyone to panic. Just trying to help out, 'cause I know saving a few hundred bux is a big deal to a lot of people!

Getting the 10% off coupon is what "sealed the deal" for me.

Same here and thanks for the info man! I was gonna wait until our 65" Mitsu HD CRT sold but I'm gonna go pick it up today before this deal slips away.

Jer

'Build a man a fire and he stays warm for one night. Set a man afire and he stays warm for the rest of his life.'

I didn't get the Best Buy extended warranty (it came to something like $299), and there's no mention of how much Maxent is charging for this...any thoughts on it? I don't normally go for extended warranties, but then again, I don't often blow this much on a plasma TV, either.

I didn't get the Best Buy extended warranty (it came to something like $299), and there's no mention of how much Maxent is charging for this...any thoughts on it? I don't normally go for extended warranties, but then again, I don't often blow this much on a plasma TV, either.

This is very interesting and I don't see any mention of price on that site or the Maxent site. Anyone wanna take the initiative to email Maxent for more info? If nobody else does I will when I get back from lunch (and possibly buying my new 50x3).

Jer

'Build a man a fire and he stays warm for one night. Set a man afire and he stays warm for the rest of his life.'

This is very interesting and I don't see any mention of price on that site or the Maxent site. Anyone wanna take the initiative to email Maxent for more info? If nobody else does I will when I get back from lunch (and possibly buying my new 50x3).

Good point...I'm going to email them now. One of us should get an answer back soon (hopefully!)

I have got to stop reading on here...I don't think I've so anxiously waited for two days to pass since my first son was born!

Can you briefly discuss the option(s) for stretching a 4:3/SD picture to fit the screen? Does it leave the center of the image alone and just stretch the sides? If so, is it a gentle strectch or obvious?

Can you briefly discuss the option(s) for stretching a 4:3/SD picture to fit the screen? Does it leave the center of the image alone and just stretch the sides? If so, is it a gentle strectch or obvious?

Thanks again!

The way my HD DVR works is that it overrides the handling of the aspect ratio, so I haven't even looked at what the TV is capable of doing. Sorry.